NeedsFinding: Making things work, or Inertia

I have been searching my photoarchives for the picture I took with my cellphone of a guy holding his Netbook, cradleed in his arms, reading on the subway.

Why? When I saw this story on Lifehacker it all came together for me!

He was standing, with his arm curled around the device so he could almost reach the space bar to advance his document one handed. It was awkward, to say the least. This little program actually meet a growing need.

Or, at least, until something better comes along.

What this shows for me is that users are willing to stretch their current devices to their limits rather than go by “the perfect” solution. Whether from a desire for frugality, pure inertia or habit, people will stretch things out well past what we might expect would be their normal patterns of use or utility.